The Girl With Bright Pink Hair
by Seano299
Summary: Takuya Hikaru is an introvert and a genius. He lived his life separated from society. But one day, him and a quiet young girl named Haruka are involved in a serious car accident. Hikaru wakes up from a 6 month coma with a new out-look on the world. But after time, he begins to realise there may be more to his new life than he thought. Could there be something bigger at work here?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

I was hovering there beside her, glancing out at the wondrous and somewhat dream-like landscape that filled our sight. A small gust of wind flowed beautifully through the bright purple trees and grass, causing them to sway graciously back and forth. A large, blue lake lying dead in the centre of everything else; the water twinkling fantastically under the gloomy rays of the star above us.

I glanced over to her. Her hair was blowing with the wind, as if she was one with the world. She seemed like a part of the world around us, and rightfully so. A saddening, melancholic smile spread across her face. She hugged her knees tightly and a lone tear rolled down her face.  
"Why are you sad?" I asked her. She slowly shut her eyes and breathe flowed peacefully through her nostrils. She opened her eyes again and turned her head towards me. There was a look in her eye. A look that she never had before. It was a look of courage. Her depressing smirk grew into a joyful, comforting grin.  
"I've made my decision." She replied, her voice shaking a little. Despite her amazing expression of confidence, it was very clear how she was really feeling.  
"What decision?" She then gazed upwards, glaring deeply into the sky.  
"I want to go to a new place…" She told me.  
(New place? What does she mean?) That was the thought that popped into my mind. But that wasn't the question I asked her.  
"How will you get there?" I nervously replied. She giggled, almost childlike and looked back at me. She looked me dead in the eyes. Even if no words were spoken, I knew what she was trying to tell me. The light around me dimmed and I was over-whelmed by surprise, anger and sadness all at once. She slowly stood up and the small lights descending from the heavens began to glow and the peaceful gust transformed into a powerful gale.

"Why?" My voice quivered and I could feel tears building up inside me. As the wind blew past us, her hair blossomed into a magnificent show of bright pink threads flopping gracefully in front of her face. She gently put her right hand to her chest, closed her eyes and looked straight at the grass beneath her feet.  
"Because, I want to meet you… Meet the you that looks like me…" She wept. Tears had begun to fall from her eyes. I could see the sparkling trails that the tears had left on her cheeks.  
"So to do that… I must change the world as it is now…" She whimpered. Hearing her voice like that struck me like a spear piercing my heart. I wanted to walk over and hold her. I wanted to tell her that she mustn't cry. I wanted to tell her that everything would be okay. But I couldn't. Because of this dreadful body I've been left with. She was the only one in this world that had a body like she did.

The wind grew even stronger, and glamorous pink sakura petals danced majestically in the air, gliding past her. She tightly clenched the hand she had placed atop her breast and raised her head to look at me one last time.  
"That's right… I haven't given you a name yet, have I?" A name… my heart lit up from the mention of being given a title.  
"Hm… How about…" My expression dropped and the light surrounding me turned into a dull shade of blue. The name was perfect. It represented exactly how I appeared to her.

"W-Will I be able to see you again?" I hated this. I didn't want her to go away. I didn't want the two of us to be separated. But she had made her decision and she wasn't going back now. She was surprisingly stubborn in that retrospect. I slowly began to float upwards, along with all the lights- no… souls around me. All I could do was stare down at her figure wistfully. If I had arms, I surely would've stretched one out to her.  
(Don't go…) I thought.  
(Don't leave me…) I wished.  
(Don't disappear…) I demanded. But alas, none of those thoughts would escape my voice. All I could do was stare. All I could do was watch. All I could do was allow her to finish what she started.

My periphery then became consumed by a blinding light. I felt my being blossom. Arms extended, legs retracted, a chest puffed out valiantly and hair sprouted atop my head. I had gained a body. And in front of me, all I could see was her. She looked dead into my soul, a grievous expression on her face.  
"So that's what you look like…" She whispered. She no longer had the energy to speak. Those few words were all she could muster up.  
"I'm… glad…" Those words slivered sluggishly out of her mouth.  
"Are you tired?" I kindly asked her.  
"Y-Yeah…" Her eyelids dropped and her legs gave way. I lunged forward to catch her and was mesmerised by an odd feeling. I was holding her. For the first time, I was able to hold her. But suddenly, she began to grow lighter. I looked at her feet and had noticed that she had started to disappear.

"No!" I yelled in anguish.  
(Don't go! Don't leave me! Don't disappear!) I had no idea what to do. All I could do was pray. But that didn't help at all. The last of her head had evaporated into the light and I was left alone. Just like how it was before.

I dropped to my knees and rested my face within the palm of my two hands. And as I knelt there, I began to cry. Quietly. I was sobbing like a baby. My world slowly began to dim. My thoughts became different. My mind fell into a deep slumber.  
(I'm going there… To meet you again… Then, I can truly hold you… With this new body you have blessed me with…) My consciousness faded away and I began to slowly descend to the new world… The world she wished for… The world WE wished for…  
(Hikaru… It has a nice ring to it…) That was my last thought before I moved on…


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Ring, ring, ring… The sound of the screeching alarm clock echoed loudly around my compact room. My eyes slowly creaked open at the painful sound. I shifted my body gently onto my back and looked up at the ceiling. I placed my hand atop my alarm clock and the piercing screech it was emitting ended abruptly.  
(I had that dream again…)

For the past few days I have been experiencing a very cryptic, recurring dream. An empty world surrounded by bountiful and resplendent orbs of light and in an empty plane stood an old and creaking cottage. Outside the cottage was a very eerie wind turbine, that turned so slowly, it was hard to notice that it moved in the first place. I wanted to know what the dream meant. They say that your dreams display very deep desires or very dormant worries and fears. I try to think what exact worries or desires the dream could represent, but absolutely nothing came to mind.

I slid out of bed and open the curtains. The sky was a dull gray colour. That's what every day was like. Dull, boring and empty. The faint sounds of the city massaged my ears. Something about listening to cars drive by soothed me.  
"God, its looks like complete shit outside…" I expressed aloud. I seemed to say that every morning despite the fact that I knew the weather would be like that. I guess, deep down, I was hoping for a sunny day to come. I sighed in disappointment and turn to my door. Throwing my slippers on and opening the door, I head into the cramped hallways of my "humble abode".

I walked slowly down the small hallway where all the bedrooms were stationed. I looked around at all the doors, reading the names above them and watching memories of those rooms flood back into my head. This seemed to happen every morning and I still loved it. All the old memories of when life wasn't just some boring old repeat of work, work and more work… Back then, you could be in space, or fighting a dragon or saving some maiden in distress; all that cliché bullshit you had when you were a kid. You look at all that stuff as weird now, but back then, all of that was a blast! Everyday felt like an adventure! But now, every day just felt like a drag. Like you've just done the exact same thing as you always did. It's like watching the same boring movie over and over again, to the point where you've already memorized all the lines and musical ques. Now, you can't go out into space, you can't go fight a dragon and you can't go save some maiden in distress… All you can do now, is work. That's what I've come to realize.

I stopped in front of the bathroom, steam flowing from under the door. Seems someone's already in there.

"Yo! Who's in there?!" I exclaimed to them.

"It's me!" Replied the soothing voice of my sister. I always enjoyed hearing that voice, it was somewhat nostalgic. My sister acted mostly as my guardian throughout my whole childhood, cheering me up, playing with me, taking me with her on trips, all sorts. It was awesome, I was never able to feel down when she was around and I still can't.

"How long are you going to be?!" I questioned.

"I dunno. About 10 minutes perhaps?" She replied. I sighed and walked on.

"Whatever, just be out soon!" I yell to her as I strut away.

"Okey-dokey!" She yelled playfully. I always enjoyed her playful attitude. Although, recently she seemed to be a lot more distant and serious because she had no time for fun anymore now that she's going to university. She started classes there about two months ago and had been noticeably quieter since then.

I made my way down the stairs, looking at the drab coloured wallpaper placed around the top floor. I never liked my mother's taste; she always picked strange and quite ugly looking colours for the house. I arrived into the spacious, bright yellow living room, where my mother was setting out plates around the dinner table in preparation for breakfast.

"What's on the menu this morning?" I asked her, even though I hardly cared anyway… I'd eat anything I was given as long as it was edible. I had no particular interests. Everything tasted the same to me, bleak and tasteless, as if all I was eating was just rice all the time.

"I decided I'd go for something a little more different and serve you what's known as a "Full English". A very famous dish in the United Kingdom!" She replied merrily. That irritated me a little. I knew my mother wasn't merry at all. I could see behind her eyes she still felt helpless and alone, like she always had ever since Dad died. Even if I didn't see what was so great about my father, my mother obviously did and has been heavily affected since his passing. Me, I saw him as a pathetic crook who only cared for his own selfish needs and would do anything to please them.

I took the seat to the far left of the table, right next to the picture of me and Kari when we visited Germany. It was a trip we all enjoyed, even when we were just a family of three. It was the first and only time since my father's death that I'd seen my mother truly happy. I stared down at my green plate, neatly decorated with yellow flowers and some brightly coloured stars. God, why is my mother's taste so bad?! This thing looks terrible! I've seen massacres that were better to look at than this damn thing! But obviously I didn't say that to her. She's very sensitive about her taste in furnishing and dishware.

She skipped merrily over to me, grabbed the plate and skipped right back over to the kitchen to bring me my food. I sat patiently waiting for her, looking around the room at all the decorations and paintings. For some reason we had a painting of a boat on the wall and I never knew why… My mother would say it was an antique and that my father loved it, but all I see is some bland boat at a dock, looking bland, acting bland and sounding bland. Everything about it was bland. Hell, it couldn't even sound bland because the supposed boat in the picture didn't even have a horn! What kind of boat doesn't have a horn for god's sake!

But I eventually just forgot about that and continued to inspect the rest of the room. I noticed one of the dishes was smashed… She must have started crying while cleaning again… Geez… It had been almost 14 years now and she was still affected by it. I didn't understand how. Love seemed like a completely nonsensical concept and I honestly couldn't see how it could affect people so badly.

My mother had skipped back into the room just how she had left it, this time holding a plate full of food. She gently placed it in front of me.

"Here you go sweetey! Eat up!" My mother playfully remarked.

"Thank you for the meal…" I blandly replied. And then I dug right into the meal. It tasted bland, just like everything else. Great. I could tell this was going to be another fantastic breakfast of empty taste. I only just ate to stay alive really and to keep in decent shape. Although I was weak and my muscles were very small, I was still very healthy, most likely healthier than most people my own age. I just had a very high metabolism and spent hardly any time exercising, if not none.

I finished my meal and went right back upstairs to see if Kari had gotten out of the shower yet.  
"Hey, Kari! You out yet?!" I questioned to her.

"Yeah! You can go in now!" She casually replied. I made my way over to the bathroom but she called out to me once more.

"Oh yeah! Hikaru?"

"Uh huh?!" Her voice seemed kind of serious… I wandered what she wanted?

"Have you thought about getting a girlfriend yet?!"

(Eh! Crap! She asked it! The one question I always dreaded a loving sister to ask!)

"Uh….Well…. Um…"  
"Jeez! You're so hopeless! How do you expect to get anything from high school if you don't get a girlfriend?!" She yelled at me.

(She can really be thick sometimes…)

"Oh, I don't know… Maybe learning? You know that thing they made school for?" I sarcastically replied.

"And what is knowledge without someone to share it with?!"

I hesitated. I didn't quite know how to answer that question.

"Life's meant to be spent with others!" She had a bit of a serious look. She gives me this lecture quite often, but I never truly take it to heart. I've spent a lot of my life after childhood as a complete introvert. I avoid people as often as possible and only talk when I really have to. It's not that I'm shy, I just really dislike people.

"I told you… I'm not good with people…"

"Well then get better! You can't spend you're your whole life like that." I knew that. But I couldn't accept it. I ignored her and continued walking. I didn't have any response.

I looked at myself in the mirror, making sure everything was spot on. I began to play with my hair, which refused to stay in a decent state. I always sort of hated my hair. It made me look like some generic manga character. It was big, it was spiky and it was blonde. Perfect right? It pretty much just tells everyone "Hey! I'm foreign! Please proceed to segregate me and treat me like dirt!" I guess that's Japan for you…

I fondled the spikes of my hair more and more, pushing me closer and closer to complete rage.

(Why won't you look tidy damn it!)

I always start thinking aggressively when tidying my hair. Eventually, I adjusted my hair into a state where it's somewhat acceptable and headed over to my bag. I looked through it quickly to make sure I had everything I needed and rushed out.

"I'm going!" I shouted, in a bored tone.

"Alright! Be safe!" My mother replied.

"Don't come back until you have a girlfriend, okay?!" Kari joked.

"Isn't going to happen!" I stepped outside and slammed the door behind me. I sighed and begun to walk the path to school.

I didn't mind walking to school as much as others seem to. I used it as time to explore my mind and creativity. I liked to play out strange scenarios in my mind. I'd just have two random characters have a random conversation in some random place for some random reason. It was all just completely random.

I looked around with almost no interest what so ever. I stared up at the sky to see a large, black curtain of fluff hanging above the city. It's quite depressing to see that every day. Although, I was just depressed in general.

After the death of my Dad, everything sort of just fell apart. The relationship between my Mum and I become almost non-exist for most of my childhood. During those times I had absolutely nothing. I refused to make friends. I refused to play any games. I even refused just going outside in the first place.

But I needed something. I spent most of my childhood cooped up in my bedroom, reading books about Science, Mathematics, Language, all sorts; just to keep going. In retrospect, that really helped not just then, but in the future as well. In school I'm known as the "Genius". I get maximum marks in all exams, I finish lesson activities in mere minutes and I can recite over 75 different poems perfectly from the top of my head. Those are the sorts of things I'm known for. But no one actually knows who I am. I'm just "Genius". That's it. No one knows anything about my personality or my interests. Just that I'm a "Genius". Genius. I grew to hate that word. People wouldn't even address me by my name. Hey Genius! What's the answer to question two? Hey Genius! What's the quadratic equation? Hey Genius! What's the atomic mass of Nitrogen? That's all I'd ever get.

People became reliant on checking my answers and letting me answer all of the teachers questions. So I just refused to do anything in class. I just slept or looked out the window after that. I'd just stare at the black, cold, dead sky. That was just a normal day for me.

I crossed over to the left side pavement and made my way over to the bus stop. By that point it had begun raining. Of course, I was stupid enough to not bring an umbrella so I got completely drenched. I was shivering like someone had just poured ice cubes down my pants.

I stood under the shelter of the bust stop for about five minutes before I noticed someone walking over. It was a girl, about my age. She was a little short; I'd say about five foot six. She was wearing the same uniform I was wearing. That struck me as odd. I'd never seen anyone from my school come to that bus stop.

At that moment a large gust of wind blew across the street and her hair fluttered marvelously in the breeze. Then I noticed the hair colour. It was an odd shade of pink. Magenta? I was terrible with shades.

A boy once laughed at me for calling teal, cyan. Me, being the short tempered runt that I was, countered by throwing a few obscenities at him. He then jammed his fist right between my eyes.

When she had reached the bus stop, she stood completely still, staring right down at the ground. I glanced at her as she stood there. She looked quite normal. But something seemed a little off about her. I felt like I knew her from somewhere, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I thought about talking to her, but the moment I tried to say something, my body completely just froze and my voice had completely abandoned me. I was never good at speaking with people, let alone people of the opposite sex.

I only ever had one crush and that just ended with tears. Her name was Miyazawa Tamiko. I had built up the courage in Middle School to ask her out and was rejected almost immediately. I was stupid enough to make the mistake of asking out the girl I thought was "cute". Turned out she was a complete bitch. She told me that she'd never go out with "a disgusting loner, who spends all his time messing around in the computer club". She might as well have just kicked me in the stomach, would've hurt just as much.

I stood there for a while, having an inner conflict with myself.

"Go over and talk to her idiot!" Screamed one part of my conscience.

"No! What if she thinks I'm weird then tells all her friends?" The other part responded

"Then you take it like a man! You won't get anywhere by just standing still and thinking about talking to someone! You've got to ACT!"

This heated debate lasted about 2 minutes, before the girl noticed I was staring at her.

"Um… Excuse me, but is there any particular reason you're just standing there staring at me?" The girl asks, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Uh… N-Not really…" I mumbled and then averted my eyes away from her and to the floor.

(Well that went well…)

The bus arrived about 3 minutes after that and the two of us stepped on, showing the driver our bus passes as we walked by.

We sat opposite each other for the whole ride, without saying a word. I'd never felt so awkward. But what I really couldn't stop thinking about was where I recognized her from. I was thinking so hard that my head literally began to ache. I knew this was going to be on my mind all day.

As the bus journey continued, we both stared out the window, watching cars pass by and pedestrians walking along. The awkwardness was so heavy in the room I could probably inhale it. It was that bad. Like some kind of awkward smoke. I then mustered up the courage to speak.

"Um, hey… Did you just recently move here or something?" Might as well ask a casual question first. If I jumped right into the whole "have we met before?" thing that would've just made the situation even more tedious.

She turned to me with a slightly curious expression.

(Did I just ask a weird question? It seemed normal… at least in the movies anyway.)

"Kind of… I just moved from one block down." She responded.

(Great. We're getting somewhere.)

"Oh… So you've always gone to this school?"

"Yes. I'm even in your class…"

(Wait, what?! Wow… I just made myself look like a complete idiot… Well, at least I know where I recognized her from…)

"O-Oh… R-Really?! Ha-ha! I never noticed!"

(Damn it. Now it feels awkward again…)

"That's not much of a surprise. I hardly speak in class and we're on completely opposite sides of the room." She said in a fairly bored tone.

(I guess that makes a little more sense…)

We sat there for a while saying nothing. I thought starting a conversation would lower the awkwardness, but it seemed to have increased it. That's the power of socializing!

The bus came to a halt.

"This is our stop…" She muttered and hurried off the bus.

(Perfect, I scared her off… Well Kari, at least I tried…)


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I walk down the hallway of the third floor, students walking past me casually chatting about stuff like TV, sports, models; things I have no interest in.

I arrive at room 2-D and step inside. This is my classroom. As I step inside, the students within look to the door. They then all look away once they notice it's just me. I scan around while walking to my seat. I spot the girl from the bus stop sitting at the front, alone reading a magazine. She looked very lonely. I wondered if she even had any friends.

"Yo! What's up?!" Asked a familiar voice. I looked over to see Tomoya glancing up at me.

Tomoya was the only friend I had at school. He was quite a dull guy really, but that was one of the main reasons why I liked him.

"Eh. Same old, same old…" I grunted.

"Really? You seem a little more annoyed than usual…" He questioned. This guy can read me like a book.

"Probably because Kari's been pushing me to get a girlfriend for the past week…"

"Any luck?" He replied.

"Nope. I tried talking to a girl this morning and completely embarrassed myself…"

This surprised him. I pretty much never spoke to anyone unless I really needed to.

"And what girl was this?" He asked me. He sounded a little smug. I nod my head at the girl at the front.

"Ah! You mean Haruka?"

"You know her?" I said in a curious tone.

"Yeah, she friends with Minami-chan."

"Minami? That crazy hooligan?!" Minami was a hyper-active, incredibly short girl in class 2-A. She's actually quite a hit with the guys due to her loli-like appearance and jumpy personality.

I looked over at Haruka, who was still peacefully reading her magazine. She did not seem like the sort of person who would hang around with Minami. Not one bit.

The teacher walked in to the room and everyone went completely silent. He started preparing all his things for the lesson. We had English Literature first. He had finished setting up and had begun registration. That was my cue to stare out the window.

The lesson went on and I continued to leer at the gloomy clouds in the sky. As I was watching, my eyes began to slowly droop. I was slowly falling asleep. I wish myself sweet dreams and slump over the desk, using my arms as a weird, but strangely comfortable, pillow.

I was having a weird dream. It was a dream about a strange world. It was very gloomy and all the colour seemed to have been drained out of it. It seemed like it was entirely sepia. I was standing in a field. It seemed like a wheat field, but I couldn't quite be sure.

I glanced around the field and caught a glimpse of a small cottage. Right beside the cottage was a wind turbine; slowly rotating. The breeze here was very calm.

I looked up at the sky and saw hundreds of little snow specs gliding down. But then I focused harder. It wasn't snow. It was a large collection of small lights raining down from the heavens. They were floating gorgeously around the world, as if a part of nature. I was completely awe-struck.

I began to walk over to the cottage in the middle of the field. I wanted to see inside. Something was telling me I had to go in. I arrived in front of the door. I wrapped my hand around the knob. I twisted it. Then I pushed it forward. Suddenly I heard a loud ringing and I was engulfed by a large light.

I woke up. It really was just a strange dream.

"Hikaru, it's break time." Tomoya softly told me.

"W…Wha?" I was still half asleep.

"It's break time."

"H…Huh? B-Break time?" I stood up and glared around the room. Everyone was leaving the classroom chatting with their friends.

(I slept through two, hour long lessons? Damn…)

The two of us take a nice stroll through the school grounds, casually chatting about anything that comes to mind.

"So how's Kendo club?" I enquire.

"It's all right. I've got a tournament next week which I'm super excited about."

"Really? When's your first match?" He's been in quite a few tournaments before, but I never made it too one.

"Next week, Tuesday." He replied.

"All right! I'll try to actually make it this time!" I've actually always wanted to see him fight. I used to do Kendo when I was younger, but I grew tired of it and quit. I always wondered where I stood compared to Tomoya, but never quite had the courage to challenge him to a match.

We continued walking around, glancing at the odd student here and there. While we were walking, I noticed a large tree in the courtyard; under the tree was Haruka, quietly reading a book while cherry blossoms fluttered past her face. It was a strange sight. I stopped and watched her for a bit. She looked peaceful and natural, like she was a part of the landscape. She turned over to the next page and a small grin appeared on her face. I didn't know why, but she seemed different and once again I got that feeling that I had met her before. Before I came to this school. It was a very important memory, yet I couldn't even remember when or where it was.

"Hey, Hikaru? You okay?" Tomoya queried. I snapped back into focus and looked back at him.

"Y-Yeah?"

"We getting some drinks or are you going to stare at Haruka all day?" I felt a little embarrassed that he just caught me staring at a girl, but I ignored the embarrassment and walked with him again. I glanced backwards before turning round the corner, getting one last look at her. I continued to think about where I had met her. I knew it was an important memory, yet I had completely forgotten it. I felt absolutely terrible about it. But at that moment, one image popped into my mind. The cottage in the field. That strange world from my dream. I was confused to the complete maximum.

The bell rang again and we all went back to class. As I was making my way back, I heard music. Very loud music. I was right next to the music club room. I peeked inside to see a second year boy with dirty blonde hair and a strange boyish charm directing what looked to be the school band. As I watched the little rehearsal take place, I heard some noises from beside me. It seemed a crowd of girls had gather around the door to watch the rehearsal. At first I thought they were all interested in the music, until I heard what some of them were saying.

"Wow! He's so handsome! I wonder if he's single?"

"Look at his hair! It's so glamorous!"

"His smile is just perfect!"

(He's quite the hit with the ladies, it seems…)

It annoyed me a little that he can get girls just by smiling where I can't even have one talk to me without both of us feeling incredibly awkward… But I shrugged it off and stuck around until the end of the song. It was a pretty catchy song, but the lyrics seemed quite generic. It was just some fruity love song. I hate those…

I eventually got bored and continued on my way to the classroom, where I was greeted by loud conversation emitting from every side of the room.

(Looks like the teacher hasn't arrived yet.)

I took my seat and waited for the teacher to arrive. He arrived about a minute after I did, with a bunch of papers in his hand.

(Oh great, Maths test… This is going to be fun…)

He handed everyone a small booklet, containing all the questions and provided us with calculators.

(Calculator test! Awesome, these are just too easy!)

"All right, you may all start your test!" He hollered, his voice echoing heavily around the room.

Everyone flings their booklets open as fast as possible, making sure they don't waste any time. I, on the other hand, non-chalantly open it with my head resting coolly on my hand. I answer each question one by one, with complete ease. I pound equations into my calculator and note them down on the paper.

(Half-way through… So far, so good…)

Of course, I always prepared myself for the worst case scenario. That one situation where the question is about something I completely over looked. The one thing that I accidently skipped over.

I continued my way through the test, answering each problem with perfect proficiency.

(Last question! And still with half an hour left to spare!)

I read through. It's a question about the volume of some odd shape. The best way to describe it is a cone with a half sphere placed on top of it. It somewhat resembled an ice-cream cone.

I punched the last equation into my calculator, noted it down, wrote the answer and concluded the test. I shut the booklet and rested my head on the table. Time to sleep once again.

Half an hour later, the test finishes and every groans in displeasure. Apart from me, who was snoring loudly in the corner of the classroom.

The bell rings and it's time for lunch. I'm sitting in the cafeteria alone, eating a tuna sandwich and drinking some freshly squeezed orange juice. There was no one sitting next to me or around me. Sometimes it seemed like people were trying to avoid me, which made me feel incredibly depressed. But I got over it.

I then heard loud crashes and a yelp two tables behind me. I turned around, sipping a bit of orange juice, to see what was going on.

A boy had been lifted completely off his feet by a ginormous third year called Kenta. He was my school's equivalent of the school bully. He was on the rugby team and was the size of a bus. He completely towered everyone.

The boy Kenta was holding up seemed quite weak. I think he was a first year.

"The hell did' ya say kid?!" Kenta yelled at the helpless boy.

"N-Nothing! I swear!" He replied, his voice contorted by fear.

"Say sorry!" Kenta demanded. The boy yelped again. He obviously didn't want to apologize.

"Say it!"

"I-I'm sorry!" The kid seemed like he was on the verge of tears.

(What the hell did the kid say?)

Kenta dropped him and he slammed hard against the ground. Kenta then proceeded to pick up his tray and move on, muttering some insults at the kid as he walked away.

(What a jerk…)

I took my tray over to the cleaning pile and noticed that Kenta was standing by the doorway.

(I wonder what he's scheming…)

I traipsed past him and then he grabbed my shoulder quite tightly.

"Oi, kid…" He grumbled.

"Y-Yeah?" I replied nervously. I could tell he planned something, I just didn't know what.

"How much ya got on ya?" He asked me.

(I see. Trying to get money out of me.)

I calmed myself now that I knew what he was after.

"Nothing. Sorry. I spent it all ready." I responded casually. He looks at me with stern eyes. I could tell he didn't believe me.

"Ya sure?"

(What a stupid question. Of course I'm sure!)

"Yup." I hadn't an absolute care in the world. He was now glaring at me. He SO didn't believe me. The two of us stood there staring at each other, sparks viciously flying around between us.

"Well, if you excuse me, I'll be going…" I tried walking away, but he gripped on to my shoulder even tighter.

(You're not going to make this easy, are you?)

"Yes?" I ask him. By being as polite as I can, he really can't have a reason to attack me. Even he knows that. He continues glaring at me. It's pretty obvious he wants me to tell him that I'm lying and give him my money. I stare deep into his eyes to show that he's nowhere near making me feel intimidated.

Eventually he sighed and let go of my shoulder, realizing that he wasn't going to get a rise out of me anytime soon.

Next was gym class. We couldn't go outside due to a heavy barrage of rain outside, so we had to use our indoor facilities. The gym teacher looked a lot like some kind of large ape. He was covered in hair and was absolutely humungous.  
"Alright, everyone will be doing laps today. You can all have five minute breaks when decide. Go!"

(God damn it…)  
He always just made us do something simple then sat back and read some sports magazines and stuff. I don't know why the school even hired him as a teacher.

I was jogging around the track, pretty much everyone else ahead of me, looking quite fatigued and just a little bit annoyed. My brows were furrowed and a quite a large frown resided on my face. I looked to my left and I saw Haruka sitting on the side looking down at the floor with a blank expression. I glanced over at the gym teacher, who was still immersed in his magazines and munching away at a load of fatty snacks.  
(Some gym teacher YOU are…)  
I walked off the track and stopped in front of her. She lifted her head and curiosity glimmered in her eye.

"W-What is it?" She cautiously asked.  
"I was just wondering why you're sitting out." She looked back down at the floor and an incredibly depressing aura emitted from her.

"I hurt my foot the other day and can't run on it…"

"Ah, I see…" something about that response felt off. I began to wonder how she got her injury, but decided not to ask such a personal question.

"Well, I'll be getting back to the track now, haha…" I let out a very awkward laugh and our short conversation came to an abrupt end. She continued to stare at the floor without replying. I bowed lightly and walked off.

Gym class was over and everyone was preparing to head home. I took everything I needed out of my locker and turned to leave, when I suddenly saw Haruka.

(I've been seeing a lot of her today…)

She cleared out her locker, smoothly shut it and solemnly walked away. A small sheet of paper wafted from where she was previously standing and landed gently on the floor. I picked it up. It was a picture of what seemed to be her and her family. I felt a little sad that she dropped something like this, especially as they all look very happy in the picture. I looked to see if she was still around, but she was not. I stepped outside and watched the rain dropped passionately to the surface. The atmosphere really was dark. I didn't see how many people could be in a good mood with the weather like this.  
(And I've got to go out in that…) I sighed and stepped forward. Suddenly, someone called out to me. I turned to see Tomoya approaching me.

"You're seriously going out like that?"

"Well, I don't have an umbrella or anything, so I'm going to have to aren't I?" He grumbled in dissatisfaction. He dived into his bag and pulled out a bright yellow umbrella.

"Here, take it."

"What about you? Won't you get wet?" He smiled and walked out into the rain.

"It's fine. I like the rain, so it doesn't bother me too much." He turned around and smiled again. I smiled back and thank him. We both leaved.

I was walking quite somberly down the road, cars passing by thrusting tsunamis of puddle water at me. The umbrella wasn't really that helpful. I was thinking heavily about why Haruka had caught my interest so much and why the picture she dropped bugged me so much. A voice at the very back of my mind told me I knew her. But I didn't know where from. It certainly wasn't from school. It was much further back. So far that I couldn't even glimpse at those memories. But I knew we had met. My gut said so, and I always trusted my gut.

I continued down the long walkway and arrived at a bus-stop. There I saw Haruka again.

(How many times will I run into her?)

I approached her, but this time, with confidence. I still don't quite know where that burst of confidence came from, but that really doesn't matter. I cover her with the umbrella Tomoya gave me and, just like before, she lifted her head and looked at me.

"You know, if you stay out in the rain like that for too long, you'll catch a cold." I told her.

"What about you?" She questioned.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She looked down at the floor again with that gloomy expression on her face.

"Also, you dropped something back at school." She raised her head in surprise. I handed her the picture and her eyes lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. She took it out of my hand and stared at it.

"Th-Thank you very much…" She was quite the quiet type, but she seemed pretty grateful.

"Is that your family?"

"Yes…" Her expression was blank.

"They look very happy."

"Yes, they do don't they?" She smiled a little.

"I can't believe I almost lost this…" The picture seemed very important to her. I was glad I found it when I did, or else she'd have lost it forever. She turned her whole body to me and gave me a deep bow.

"Thank you very much!" I was flabbergasted. It wasn't that often that people treated me with that much respect.

"Y-Your welcome!" I nervously responded. She smiled at me and I smiled back. It'd been a while since I shared a genuine smile with someone. It was a nice feeling.

A man walked over to us and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Huh?" I said. The man was wearing a loose, blue uniform and was middle-aged.

"Don't you kids know this bus stop's closed?"

"Huh?" I stepped back and looked at the sign next to the bus stop. The sign read "Out of service"

"Eh?! Seriously?!"

"Sorry, but you'll have to try another stop kid." He left and the two of us stood there.

"Well, I guess I'll be going then! I know a bit of a short cut home, so I'll be fine! Hope to see you around again!" She then rushed off and started to cross the road. At that moment, my body acted on a mysterious instinct. The voice at the back of my mind spoke out to me. I had to ask her. I needed to know. Where had I met her before? A strange feeling told me that if I didn't act right then and there, I'd never see her again. For some reason, I didn't like that. I lunged forward and grasped her wrist. She twisted her head round and stared at me.

"Wha-?"

"P-Please… Tell me… Where have we met before?"

"H-Huh?! What does that mean?! I'm in your class remember?!"

"Not then! Before that! We've met before that! When?! Where?! How?!"

I found I was shouting at her at this point.

"I-I-" But before she could tell me, a loud horn and the screeching of tires could be heard from beside us. I turned and saw a car sliding right towards us. The car collides with the both of us and we both crash to the ground. The man driving rushes out of his car and looks at us.

"Sh-Shit!" He pulls out his phone and calls an ambulance.

"H-Hello?! Yes, I need help! I've run over two high school students and they need medical attention immediately!" The man was screaming, but to me it sounded like he was whispering. My sense began to fade and my vision started to dim.

(Is this how I die?) I thought.

I always thought dying would hurt, but really, I couldn't feel a damn thing. I just lay there, my existence slowly fading.

(Heh… I feel kinda pathetic…)

I creaked my head to look at Haruka. She was already unconscious and blood was trickling down the side of her head. I was still holding her wrist.

(I pulled her into this… because I couldn't let my curiosity go… Why did I grab her in the middle of the road?)

The man rushes to my side and tries to encourage me.

"Don't worry! An ambulance is on its way! You and your girlfriend will be perfectly fine! I promise!" I chuckled a little.

(Girlfriend? Is that what she looked like to him? I guess that makes sense… I mean, I was holding her hand and all… I'm still holding her hand…)

I look over at my hand which is still grasped around her wrist. In that split second, I caught a glimpse of my memory. It was hazy, but it filled me complete despair. Not because of what happened in the memories, but because of what was happening then. I then grasped her hand and squeezed it.

"We're… gonna make it…" It was weird. A few minutes before, this girl was just someone who I had a bit of an interest in. But at that moment, she was someone very important.

(I definitely met you before… definitely…)

I could hear the sound of sirens.

(An ambulance…)

I could hear the man talking with someone.

"How long since you hit them?"

"About twenty minutes…"

(Twenty minutes… has it really been that long?)

I'd lost track of time. My world began to fade. Everything around me grew dark. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't taste anything and I couldn't smell anything. But I could feel one thing… Haruka's hand… I could feel the warmth of her palm as I began to faint. I thought it would be the last thing I'd feel. That it'd all end there. I wasn't scared. I wasn't sad. I was actually kind of glad. I was leading a failing life. A life filled with emptiness. A life where all I done was work, work and work. I never made friends. I never enjoyed my youth. I never got a girlfriend. Many people would see these as regrets. As things that would make them want to keep living. But I didn't. I knew myself to well. I didn't enjoy things like that. But at the same time, I didn't enjoy being alone. I was doomed to a life of depression and solitude. I was glad that I was going to die by someone else's hand rather than my own. I would've hated killing myself. It would've felt like admitting defeat. But this… this was taking defeat… Those are two different things. One is giving up and the other is nobly accepting my loss. Before I fell into my eternal slumber, I saw ball of light and a small girl. The small girl gazed at the light, entranced by its mysteriousness. She reached out to touch it but it avoided her grasp. She tried to grab it again. Once again, she failed. The ball slowly began to get higher and higher, and the girl was climbing onto her feet. She kept reaching for it, frustration swelling up. The ball eventually flew out of reach and she stared at it. Tears welled up in her eyes and she began to cry. She was alone again. The scene felt familiar. And somehow, in the world between life and death, I glanced to my left, where I could still see Haruka. Even in this world, I was holding her hand. I stared at her face. Wishes of living filled my mind. She was bringing me hope. I was making a new friend. I was taken steps towards freedom. Towards happiness. But for each step forward, I took two steps back. But I had realized that. I wanted to keep moving forward, without looking back. I turned back to the girl who was now looking at me, smiling.

(Could she hear what I was thinking?)

She giggled and walked away. Then she disappeared into the darkness. And then the orb of light came down again. It floated above my face and I could feel it's heat on my nose.

"Do you want to continue walking forward?" A humble voice. A kind voice. I opened my mouth and spoke.

"Of course I do…" There was a long silence and then the voice let out a quick laugh.

"I thought you would say that…" The light flew away, and like the girl, disappeared into the darkness. I felt my existence slowly disappear.

(Am I moving on…?)

The warmth of Haruka's hand disappeared.

(…I hope not…)


End file.
